Mind Warp
by lighthawkdemon1
Summary: The second, and previously unknown version of Xi Fa Xiang Gao gets used on Akane and she suddenly thinks that someone else is her fiancee and she instantly falls in love with him. How will Ranma deal with this new turn of events?
1. Part One: A Little Kitty Told Me

Ranma ½

_Disclaimer: This episode of Ranma ½ is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Ranma ½. "Ranma ½" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1988-2004 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights reserved_

_Note: This story takes place about halfway through the manga, at about volume 14 or so. If you have read any of the manga, you should know all the events that have lead up to the point in which I am starting and changing the story._

**Mind Warp   
Part 1:   
A Little Kitty Told Me… **

Ranma Saotome sits high up in a tree, watching the slowly darkening sky through the thick clouds that have accumulated in the last couple of hours. A slight sigh escapes him as he remembers the fight he had with Akane earlier. "I don't get why she was so angry at me," he mutters out loud. "She's the one who walked in on me in the bath! And why did she have to hit me so hard?" he adds while turning his head to the side, revealing a fresh red mark on his cheek in the form of a hand. A slight 'tsk tsk' from below catches his attention. The young man looks down to see Shampoo's great-grandmother Cologne looking up at him, a sly smile on her withered face. "What do you want ghoul?"

The old woman is up on the same branch as Ranma in the blink of an eye, balancing atop her wooden cane. "I see you have had another spat with that girl who you claim to be your true fiancée, son-in-law," she comments, her large eyes gazing at the bruise on Ranma's cheek. "She's far too violent and unpredictable to be a suitable wife. Why don't you just give up on her and marry Shampoo? She wants to be with you and you two do make a good couple if I do say so myself. There is love there, I sense."

The young Saotome snorts slightly. "Sorry ya old ghoul, but I'm not gonna marry Shampoo. And besides," he adds, leaning in towards the much older woman, "she wouldn't want to be with me if I hadn't accidentally beat her. I wouldn't call that love."

"True," Cologne replies, nodding her head a bit, "but that does not change the fact that she will be a much better wife, and I have been watching her closely lately. At first, I agree with you, she wanted to marry you out of obligation to our tribe's bi-laws, but I have sensed a change in her. Her feelings for you are genuine now, though I admit she can be a bit too forward at times. I have trained her in many things, and she knows how to be a good and honorable wife, despite some of the ways she has tried to win you. With her, you could be very happy, as will she!"

Ranma is about to reject the idea again, but a sharp sting from the bruise he got courtesy of Akane reminds him of how violent she can be…and how exactly the opposite Shampoo has been to him lately. For a brief moment, he considers her offer and starting up something with the beautiful young Chinese Amazonian. His eyes widen slightly as he realizes what he's thinking and he shakes the thoughts out of his head. "Sorry, not interested," he mutters, turning to the side to face away from Cologne.

The great-grandmother of Shampoo stares at him for a moment, then turns around to leave. She says, "One day, your eyes will open and you will realize what you have been denying yourself. When that day comes, I will be here to welcome you into my family. We'll meet again…" and then leaps away, laughing the entire time.

Just as she leaves, a light rain begins to fall, changing Ranma into his girl form. She sighs as she tightens her now loose belt. "Why can't things ever be easy for me?" she wonders out loud.

**_oooooo _**

Sometime later, the rain has stopped and the sky has cleared, revealing a nice, star filled sky. Ranma has made it back to the Tendo Training Hall, still looking a bit down and not noticing his father, Genma, coming her way. Just as the elder Saotome comes in with a quick lunging punch at her, she easily leaps over the attack and kicks her father on the back, knocking him forwards into the small pond in front of him. He emerges from the pond a second later, now in his giant panda form and looking none too pleased with his son…er…daughter. 'Where have you been?' he asks, holding up a sign.

"Out," Ranma answers, "what's it to you pop?" She growls out as her father cracks the sign over her head. She quickly retorts by sweeping the grumpy panda off of his feet, knocking him back into the pond and giving the young woman the opportunity to walk in the house. "I'm home!" she calls out.

"Oh, welcome back Ranma," the eldest of the Tendo daughters, Kasumi, greets the younger woman as she walks in. "Did you enjoy your walk home?"

She is about to answer when Akane suddenly walks in, wearing her training gear and sweating slightly. She takes one look at Ranma and quickly turns around and hurriedly walks back to her room, hiding the heavy blush that has just adorned her face. "I've had better," he mutters, pouring a kettle of hot water over his head, changing himself back to his normal, male form. With a sigh, he walks back outside and leaps up onto the roof, lying back onto it and staring up at the starry sky, not understanding Akane's strange behavior…as well as Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi, all of whom seem to arrive at inconvenient moments to dote on the young man, straining his relationship with the youngest Tendo daughter. "I just wish that for once, things could go easier for me."

**_oooooo _**

Ryoga walks down the deserted street, intent on finding his way back to the Tendo Training Hall, and into his beloved Akane's arms…given the fact that he will be in his P-chan form. 'I think I'm in Nerima, or somewhere close to it,' he thinks to himself, fresh from a weeklong journey to the local flower shop to buy something nice for Akane, and winding up in Hokkaido.

As he passes by a restaurant, he pauses, knowing he's been to it before. "The Cat Café," he mutters out loud, reading the sign outside which is only visible at this hour at night by the streetlamps in front of the little restaurant. Ryoga walks inside, calling out, "Hey, is anybody in here?" When nobody responds, he walks in a bit more, taking a look around. 'I know I've been in here before,' he thinks to himself. Suddenly, voices can be heard from ahead in another room. Curious, the young man slowly makes his way to the back. He just starts to enter the backroom, but stops in his tracks and leaps back into the hallway, cautiously peering back into the back area of the café.

Shampoo is busy adding what appears to be some sort of spice from an old looking container, the label worn down and unreadable, into a large bowl. The young Amazonian hums a beautiful sounding song out loud as she mixes the ingredients together, a soft smile on her face. Her great-grandmother Cologne is not too far from her, looking through some old scrolls on the tabletop. Her eyes brighten as she reads the label of one scroll in particular. Tossing the others aside, the old woman breezes through the scroll's contents, nodding slightly. "Shampoo," she calls out.

The young woman stops stirring the contents in the bowl and looks over at her great-grandmother. "Yes?" she politely asks.

"I've finally found a fool-proof way to get that stubborn future groom of yours to want to be with you and not that other girl."

"Aiyaa! How?!" the pretty Amazonian excitedly questions, clasping her hands together. 'Maybe I no need make special food now,' she thinks lightly.

The tiny old woman holds up the scroll for her great-granddaughter to read. "It is a different form of the legendary Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique," she explains. "The main difference with this form is that…"

"It replace memory," Shampoo begins, looking up from the old scroll, "it no erase."

Cologne nods once, folding her arms. "Correct. You can sneak into the boy's room while he is sleeping and apply the technique on him, replacing all of his memories of his other fiancée with you." She smiles at the dawning look on Shampoo's face. "Yes, that would in turn replace all of the feelings he had for her to you too. I know he cares deeply for her, and if you could get him to feel for you the way he does for her…"

"Ranma mine!" the young woman finishes, clapping her hands happily. She suddenly stops as her smile fades. "Shampoo no do it."

"Why not?" Cologne asks. "You do want my future son-in-law to be yours right?"

Her great-granddaughter smiles sadly. "Yes, Shampoo do want Ranma, but so tired is Shampoo of trying and no succeeding. Each time Shampoo try something, Akane or spatula girl ruin it and Ranma always leave with Akane, no me. This time, Shampoo no play any tricks. This time…Shampoo win Ranma heart for real." She puts the scroll down and goes back to the bowl she was just holding, stirring the contents inside once again.

The old woman turns away, hiding the large smile. 'I must say Shampoo,' she thinks to herself, 'I'm very proud to be your great-grandmother.' Some movement near the doorway catches her eye and in an instant, she is in front of the intruder, sitting on top of her cane. Ryoga jumps back in surprise at the old woman's quickness. "And just what are you doing sonny?" she demands, her large eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"N-Nothing!" the young man quickly answers, holding his hands up in front of him defensively, though it wouldn't help much. "I was just walking by this place and I thought it looked familiar so I stopped in to see if I could get directions!"

Cologne tilts her head to the side. "Ah yes, I remember. You have a terrible sense of direction, correct?"

Blushing, Ryoga looks to the side, nodding meekly. "Yeah, that's me. So…uh could you tell me how to get to the Tendo Training Hall?"

The old Amazonian is about to respond when a sudden thought comes to her, a thought that could bend things more in favor of her great-granddaughter if it goes along well. She slides the door closed so Shampoo won't overhear. "I will show you, but I would like to know how much you overheard in the conversation I was having with Shampoo."

He rubs the back of his head slightly. "I was there the entire time, but I couldn't hear everything," he truthfully answers. "I caught some stuff about some technique about memories or something."

"The Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique," she corrects. "There are two different versions of it. One erases memories, but…"

"Hey, I remember that one!" Ryoga starts, realization now spreading across his features. "That girl used it on Akane and erased her memories of Ranma!" A scowl quickly forms as he remembered how she regained her memories. 'How could he say such awful things about Akane?' he thinks. 'If I were in his place…' he trails off in thought of being able to embrace his beloved Akane without fear of how she'd react, a deep sigh escaping him.

He's brought back to the real world as Cologne raps him over the head with her cane. "Yes, Shampoo used it on that other girl, but the main problem with that version of the technique is that it can be easily reversed, especially if there are strong feelings for the person whose memories are being erased."

The directionally challenged young man gives her a quizzical look. "What does that mean?"

"It's rather simple," she replies with a sigh. "Think of the mind as a never ending hallway with endless doors on both sides. Each door is a memory, in some form or another. Now you cannot truly erase a memory, it is impossible to do so. What first version of the Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique does is lock the door to a particular memory up, keeping it from being accessed or used."

Ryoga sits down, now completely interested in the conversation he is having with the ancient looking woman. "So that's why Akane kept on forgetting who Ranma was."

Cologne nods once. "Precisely, but like I said before, since her feelings for the boy were strong, the door couldn't stay locked, but with the second version, which was what I was just discussing with Shampoo, instead of locking the door up, it changes rooms with another door, so to speak," Ryoga is about to speak up again when she adds, "meaning that if you used it on, oh I don't know, Akane, and it is done properly, you could put anyone in anyone else's place in her memory."

A glimmer of hope appears in the young man's eyes. "You mean I could put myself in Ranma's place so Akane would think _I'm_ her fiancée and love _me_?!" he finishes in a near squeal, his excitement at the opportunity showing off quite a lot.

The old woman barely has the strength to hold in the laugh that it dying to come out. "Yes, if you wanted to that is." She suddenly pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to him. "Well now I think it is time you went off, it is getting very late." With her help, he finds the front door and leaves, staring down at the directions she just gave him…and going in exactly the opposite way. Cologne slaps her forehead, groaning loudly. I'll have to follow that boy and make sure he makes it back here once Shampoo is asleep.

**_oooooo _**

A little over an hour later, Ryoga looks around at the vast plains surrounding him and then back at the page of directions, not entirely sure he is going in the right direction. He crumples the paper up and drops it onto the ground, stomping down a few times in frustration and turning it into dust. Mumbling under his breath about stupid old mummies, he turns around, only to leap back several feet in surprise at the lit candle that has somehow appeared behind him. He quickly gets to his feet, cautiously walking up to the candle. He picks it up and examines it closely, finding nothing out of the ordinary. He is about to put it back down when another candle suddenly lights a few feet in front of him, and then another a few feet in front of that one, and then another. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Ryoga follows the ever-lengthening trail of lit candles.

The trail soon leads him out of the plains and back into Nerima. 'Today must be my lucky day,' he thinks mildly to himself. His eyes widen in surprise as he sees that the trail is leading him back to the Cat Café. "Maybe…maybe I should get that scroll and give it a shot," he mutters out loud, a faint blush tracing his cheeks at the thought of finally getting closer to his beloved Akane. The young directionally challenged man walks inside and is surprised to see that the candle trail still goes on inside.

Ryoga continues on, leaving the main café area and entering one of the backrooms, the one that Cologne and Shampoo were having the discussion about the memory technique in. Feeling even luckier, Ryoga walks in, a circle of candles surrounding a lone scroll. As he picks it up and unravels it, reading through its contents, the smirk on his face instantly falters as he sees that all of the writing is in Chinese, a language he doesn't either speak or read. He hangs his head down as his excitement deflates…just as he notices some extra writing in Japanese under the Chinese text. Ryoga's smile returns in full as he unravels it the rest of the way, revealing the Japanese translation and specific instructions on how to do the technique, which requires formula number 311 shampoo.

Something suddenly falls on top of his head and lands on the floor beside him. He kneels down and picks up the object, moving it into the light of the candles. His smile widens as he reads the numbers '311' clearly printed on the bottle. "Alright!" he silently whispers out loud, "now I can use…" he trails off as the sounds of someone moving reaches his ears. Frantically, he runs out of the room, following the candle trail to make a speedy getaway. After a few minutes of continuous running, he stops and turns around to see if he was followed. Satisfied that no one is, he turns back around, sighing with relief. "Well that was close, but now I must go on a journey to fine the Tendo Train…" Ryoga trails off once more as he sees that somehow the trail he was following has now lead him right to the front steps of the Tendo Training hall.

Feeling like the luckiest man in the world, the young man quietly enters, not aware of the small old woman watching over him. 'He is fortunate that I decided to assist him,' she thinks to herself, pocketing an old lighter. 'Now if everything goes along as I have planned, my soon to be son-in-law will run into Shampoo's arms and they can finally be together.'

**_oooooo _**

Ryoga silently slides the door to Akane's room open, his entire body trembling and sweating as his nervousness climbs astronomically. This is the first time he's been in the young woman's room while she's in it…in his human form. Moving stealthily, he moves over to her bedside table and places down the bottle of 311 shampoo, a towel and a bucket of warm water he conveniently found along the way. As the first rays of the morning sun begin to form over the horizon, he unravels the scroll and reads through the Japanese translation carefully. Ryoga puts the scroll down after a few moments and rolls up his sleeves, a determined look on his face. "I'm really sorry about this Akane," he mutters to the sleeping girl in front of him, "but if this is the only way that I can get you to feel for me what I feel for you…then I have no other choice."

**_oooooo _**

The bright, early morning sun wakes Akane from her peaceful slumber. The youngest Tendo daughter usually wakes up earlier, but since it is Saturday, she allowed herself to get a little extra sleep. She sits up and stretches her arms out, but pauses and touches her hair lightly. "I don't know why…but I feel very refreshed!" she mutters out loud. As usual, she doesn't think this fully through or she would have known that she experienced a similar feeling like that once before when Shampoo erased her memories of Ranma. The young woman is about to get up out of her bed when she notices that she isn't alone. "P-chan!" she cries out happily, picking up the tired little black piglet and hugging him tightly. "Oh you smart little piggy, how'd you get in my room?"

P-chan blearily opens his eyes and mutters a short, "Bwee," before closing his eyes again and quickly falling asleep, a soft snore escaping him.

"Oh you poor thing," Akane coos, petting him lightly, "you must be exhausted." She gently puts him back down on her bed, kissing him on his nose once. With one last look, she goes to her dresser and changes into her training gear for her usual morning training. Everything goes on without a problem for once, mainly due to the fact that both Ranma and Genma are sleeping. "Honestly," she mutters while striking a training dummy, "I don't see why Daddy lets those two live here and eat all our food and do nothing in return. Why did they come here in the first place?" she adds, pausing for a moment in thought. "Oh well…I'll remember it sooner or later."

**_oooooo _**

A little while later everybody is sitting down at the dining room table, enjoying another spectacular breakfast made by the eldest daughter Kasumi. Amazingly enough, every one is eating peacefully, even Ranma, the panda Genma and Happosai. It seems that the calm, beautiful day has even affected them enough to behave for once together. After a little while, all the food has been eaten and everyone stands up, getting ready to go about their own things. Just as Akane leaves the kitchen to get a little more training in, Ryoga enters the dining area, still looking very tired. "Oh good morning Ryoga," Kasumi kindly greets. "My, you look exhausted!"

"Yeah," her groggily mutters, rubbing the back of his head and cricking his neck. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last…" he trails off as a white blur suddenly comes from the other side of the room and crashes into him with enough force to knock the young man down. He is about to mouth a protest, but freezes as he realizes who crashed into him.

Akane has her arms wrapped around Ryoga's waist, hugging him tightly. "Oh Ryoga!" she sweetly begins, a light flush on her cheeks, "I missed you so much!"

"A-A-Akane?!" he stutters, his entire body freezing up as everyone else in the room stares in shock at the young woman's odd behavior. "Wh-What are you doing?!"

She shifts her position so she is eye level with the directionally challenged young man, a glorious smile on her face, one that not even her family sees all too often. "What do you think I'm doing silly? I'm greeting the man I love and who I'm going to marry." Before anyone can say anything, she leans forward and catches Ryoga's lips with hers in a soft, loving kiss.

Ranma suddenly steps forward, the floorboards breaking underneath him at the force of his steps. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?!

**To be continued…**   
  
**_oooooo_**   
  
**Author's notes**: Well here is the first chapter of my very first Ranma ½ fic. I hope all of you enjoy it, it's been an idea I've been tossing around for a while now and I've finally gotten a good enough of a plot to write the story and keep it running. Just to let you know ahead of time, I'm not a big Akane fan, she's too violent to poor Ranma and far too thickheaded. I'm more partial to the exotic Shampoo or the lovely Ukyo. As you can tell, this story won't be a Ranma/Akane pairing.

Now I've been a very busy person, working on an all new Love Hina fic as well as piecing together my prequel fic to my Tenchi Darkness series, 'The Prelude to Darkness' and also some ideas for the eventual sequel for 'The Return to Darkness' which I have decided to name, '…And in the Darkness Bind Them…' which is a line taken from _The Lord of the Rings_, by far one of the greatest trilogies in movie history. Now don't worry, I haven't strayed from my other works, I'm just so caught up in ideas that getting a set plan for just one is becoming increasingly difficult. I will try to get a new chapter up for one of my Inu-Yasha stories soon, I promise. – _lighthawkdemon_   
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemonyahoo.com**


	2. Part Two: FearWhat Fear?

**Ranma ½**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Ranma ½ is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Ranma ½. "Ranma ½" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1988-2004 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. All rights reserved_

Note: This story takes place about halfway through the manga, at about volume 14 or so. If you have read any of the manga, you should know all the events that have lead up to the point in which I am starting and changing the story.

**Mind Warp  
Part 2:  
Fear…What Fear?**

Everyone in the Tendo living room goes deathly still at the strange events that have just occurred. Akane has just denounced her engagement to Ranma and has switched it over to Ryoga, whom she claims to love and is enthusiastically kissing at the moment. She backs off at the lip lock and looks at the young Saotome, who just interrupted her kiss with her beloved. "What do you mean Ranma?" the youngest Tendo asks, giving him a sour look. "I'm greeting my fiancée, what's wrong with that?"

The double cursed young man opens and closes his mouth several times, too shocked for words. Kasumi is the first to speak up. "What do you mean Akane?" she calmly asks, not letting her surprise show, "Ranma's your fiancée, you're engaged to him, not Ryoga."

Akane releases the directionally challenged man she is holding and stands up, a confused look now replacing her sour one. She looks at the younger of the two houseguests with a raised eyebrow. "Ranma? I'm engaged to _him_?" The Saotome youth cringes ever so slightly at the bitterness in her voice. Akane wraps her arms around Ryoga's middle, shaking her head. "You guys got it wrong, I barely even consider Ranma a friend, he's always insulting my looks, my fighting skills, my cooking and he's a total pervert. Ryoga on the other hand," she begins with a loving smile, "has always been the nicest and sweetest guy I've ever met. He's the one who I love and am going to marry." She snuggles closer into the young man for added affect.

Happosai shakes his head with a sigh. "This drama is too boring for an old man," he mutters while standing up. "I think it is time to go out and greet some young beauties!" With a scary chuckle, he leaps out of the house to go about his daily work, i.e., molesting young women and stealing their underwear for his ever-growing 'collection'.

Ryoga lightly returns the embrace with flaming cheeks, still amazed that the special shiatsu technique worked out so amazingly well. "Y-Yeah," he stutters out, "that's right." He meekly gazes at the ground. 'So this is what it feels like to be in heaven!'

Soun's head suddenly grows enormous as he enters his 'demon head' state, turning towards where Ranma was standing and shouts, "What is the meaning of this Ra…" but trails off as he notices that the Saotome boy is gone. The Tendo patriarch's head shrinks back to its normal size. "Where is he?"

Genma quickly looks around the room, his anger growing with each passing moment. "Ranma!" he shouts, "get in here boy! Explain yourself at once! The schools must be joined!"

Ryoga's body suddenly tenses as his danger sense comes to life in full alert. He looks around to see where it's coming from and as he looks behind him, the young man gets splashed with a bucketful of ice-cold water, compliments of a furious Ranma. Frantically, he tries to escape his beloved Akane's grasp, but he is unable to escape in time and transforms into the little black piglet P-chan.

Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi all gasp in shock at witnessing the young man turn into the youngest sister's pet. "P-P-P-chan?" The sudden revelation also comes to a shock to both the fathers in the household. Genma is surprised that he never noticed it before, plus the fact that his son knew the entire time and never told him; while Soun is more stunned than anything, suddenly remembering a little black piglet once leaping into the furo while he was in it and emerging as a young man some time ago. The Tendo elder was so caught off guard at what he witnessed that he completely forgot about it afterwards.

The piglet looks away from his beloved Akane, too shamed to look her in the face. 'No!' his mind screams in agony. 'Not now! I've finally had my love for Akane returned and she finds out I am a pig!' He turns his sights towards his rival, a fury unparalleled to anything he has ever felt before quickly rising inside of him as an angry squeal escapes him. 'Ranma! Once again you are the source of my pain and suffering! I will show you hell for this!' He is about to leap out of his beloved's arms when she suddenly pulls him in close in a cute embrace.

"Oh Ryoga you naughty boy!" Everyone around them face faults onto the floor. "I've slept with you and I've changed in front of you so many times!" she pulls P-chan up and gives him a kiss on his snout, getting a furious blush from the piglet. "I love my little naughty piggie!" Ryoga looks over at Ranma and gives him a smug snort, extremely relieved that Akane doesn't hate him or want to hit him…a lot.

The young sex-changing martial artist feels his world fall down around him. 'W-what's going on?' his mind weakly asks. 'Why is this happening to me?' Both his old man and Mr. Tendo both finally decide to not stand by idly anymore, realizing that this is not just a simple argument and something much more serious. They quickly go and face Ranma, neither looking too happy at the moment.

"What is the meaning of this Ranma?" Soun shouts, getting into his demon head mode again, smoke emerging from his nose while his tongue waves around like a snake. "What have you done to my little girl?"

The young Saotome is about to speak up when his father buts in. "You are supposed to marry Akane boy! The schools must be uni…" he is cut off by a sharp punch to his gut by his own flesh and blood, knocking the older man to his knees and the wind out of him. Everyone's eyes quickly dart over to Ranma, who is looking both frustrated and apologetic.

"Sorry pops, but I gotta say somethin and nobody's listenin ta me." He rubs the bridge of his nose for a moment. "I don't know what any of you are thinkin, but I didn't do nothin to her, nothin!" He pauses for a moment, staring at the little pig in his fiancée's arms. "Ryoga did something ta her, I know it!" The young man feels the anger build up inside of him as a fierce battle aura surrounds him. "That's it pig-boy! I'm tired of being nice ta ya and always goin easy on you! Time for some payback!" He charges full steam at the directionally challenged young man, fully intent on causing some serious harm for somehow taking his Akane away from him. He is just within arm's length when a large yellow mallet suddenly smashes down onto the top of his head, hitting him with such force that the floor below him cracks and nearly caves in.

Akane pulls the mallet off of Ranma's head and puts it behind her, the item vanishing to wherever she gets it from. "You should know better than to mess with my Ryoga," she huffs, cuddling the pig in her arms. "I don't even know why I bother with you anymore, you, you stupid, worthless, sex-changing…_freak_!" She spits out the last word with every fiber of loathing inside of her.

"Akane!" Kasumi shouts, a shocked expression adorning her innocent face, "how could you say such terrible things about Ranma?" She kneels over to see if the young man is all right.

"Yeah," Nabiki adds in, folding her arms with a stern frown, "this is totally unlike you sis. I know you and Ranma have your usual spats all the time, but this is way over the top."

Everybody backs off as Ranma suddenly stands up and dusts himself off, an unreadable expression on his face. "Did ya really mean all of that Akane? Are we…through?"

The youngest Tendo daughter snorts derisively. "We never had anything to begin with. I don't know what any of you thought, but I…do…not…love…you Ranma," she finishes, stressing the last few words, though despite how confident she sounds, the young woman feels an odd lurch deep in her heart after she is finished talking. 'What was that?' she thinks to herself. With a slight shrug, she turns around and heads upstairs with an elated P-chan in her arms.

Kasumi watches her youngest sister walk out on her fiancée with a hand over her heart. "Oh dear," she mutters, an unusual expression spreading across her normal cheerful face, sadness. "What will Ranma do now?"

Soun and Genma stand completely still for several moments, too shocked to think of anything. Suddenly, they look over at the two remaining available sisters, another of their masterful plans coming to fruition. In the blink of an eye, both Kasumi and Nabiki are pushed in front of Ranma. "Okay now boy," the species-changing martial artist begins, "since your engagement to Akane was a failure, you must now decide between Kasumi and Nabiki. Remember, the schools must be joined."

"Yes son," Soun adds, "choose which of my remaining daughters you wish to marry." Both fathers smile proudly at their 'great' back-up plan. "I believe introductions aren't necessary this time."

Nabiki is about to voice her displeasure loudly at possibly being given away again like some sort of simple material possession when Ranma quietly replies, "None of them."

Genma and Soun look between Ranma and each other a few times blankly before bursting out laughing. "Don't be foolish!" the young man's father chuckles. "Just be a man and choose one so we can put this whole mess behind us." His smile fades as his son turns his head and closes his eyes. "What are you doing boy?"

The Tendo patriarch goes back into demon head mode, snarling at the young man before him. "Why are you refusing? Are you saying there's something wrong with my daughters?"

"No!" the pig-tailed martial artist quickly denies. "Well…" he slowly adds, "if I got engaged to Nabiki…I'd be kinda afraid of what she'd wanna do with me ta make as much money as she could, like who she'd…_rent_ me out too." A large shudder overcomes over him at the thought of being Kodachi Kuno's legal plaything for a day…or longer. "Kasumi," he pauses for a brief moment, gazing at the oldest, and most innocent of the Tendo sisters, "she deserves better than me…way better," he adds while looking down at his hands. "I don't wanna push any of my problems on them like I did with Akane."

Genma leans in closer to his son, an unreadable look on his face. "You know you must choose one of them son. Your honor lies on your decision."

"Honor," Ranma mutters, looking out the window, where several birds fly by. "Why does everything about me come back ta honor? I couldn't tell anybody 'bout Ryoga's curse cause of my honor as a warrior. I'm engaged ta three girls…and who knows how many more," he adds with an angry look at his pops, who sulks back slightly, "and I can't break it off with any of them cause of my honor as a man and their honor too. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my 'honor' is being used against me. Ya know, I don't think honor is all that great anymore."

"Do not say such a thing," Soun calmly replies

Kasumi clasps her hands together in front of her. "Yes Ranma, honor is a very important thing. It is neither unimportant nor a weapon. True, it can burden you at times, but your honor is what sustains you during harsh times when you feel all is lost. Please never speak badly of honor Ranma, for it is a great thing. I pride myself in the honor I have both for and with my family."

All those gathered in the living room blink owlishly at the oldest Tendo daughter's surprising insight. Nabiki scratches her cheek, wondering where it came from. "Ooookay, that was…unexpected."

Ranma nods once. "I see what you're talking about Kasumi, and I'm sorry about what I just said but," forcing a smile on his face, the young man turns his head back up to everybody in the room, "I think it's time ta move on. It's been…something else living here for the last year or so, but I think…no I feel that I don't belong here anymore. I'm sorry everyone, but I have ta get goin now. Later." With a respectful bow, he turns around and walks outside, sliding the door shut as he exits, leaving the three Tendos and other Saotome in his wake, the entire household suddenly seeming darker despite how bright and sunny it is outside.

As soon as he slides the door shut, Ranma rushes over to the side of his now former home and leaps onto the second floor, entering his and his pop's room through the window. Fighting back his sorrow, he quickly packs all of his belongings into his traveling pack and leaps back out the window, never turning back.

* * *

On top of the Tendo roof, Cologne scratches her chin while sitting atop her trusty old wooden staff, her mind working through everything she has just heard. "It looks like that directionally challenged boy actually did it…but something is troubling me." She looks down towards Akane's room. "Young miss Tendo's actions were much different than I would have thought. She treated son-in-law with nothing but utter contempt and the Hibiki boy pure love, even after finding out about his Jusenkyo curse." She rubs her wrinkled forehead in frustration. "I am positive that foolish child messed up somewhere while he was performing the memory-swap technique…but where he fell out of place and what he has done to her is still a mystery. I must read through my old scrolls and find the answer." With that she uses her staff as a pogo and bounces from rooftop to rooftop back to the Nekohaten.

* * *

A couple hours later, Ranma is quietly shuffling down the street, unsure of what to do now. "Man," he mutters out loud, "I shoulda thought of where I could stay before I left." His mind wanders on his two other lovely fiancées. 'If I stayed with Shampoo,' he thinks, 'that old ghoul'd probably wanna cart me off to China or somethin…though that means I could go to Jusenkyo and get rid of this stupid curse,' he adds with a light smile. 'But there is Moose,' the self-preserving part of his mind chides in. 'I don't wanna have to deal with that guy all the way to China. I mean, he's no big problem or anything, he's just really annoying, kinda like Kuno,' he adds with a slight smile.

He starts to gather some thoughts on his old friend and other fiancée Ucchan and how she could probably keep him over for a few days while he tries to set things right when a jingle of a bicycle ring reaches his ears just before it suddenly crashes into the back of his head, knocking the young man to the ground. He quickly hops to his feet, finding, as he suspected, a beautiful young Chinese Amazonian with long purple hair standing in front him. "Nihao!" she greets with her usual cheerful smile. "Shampoo have special treat for you!" she holds out a plate with some delicious looking and smelling food. "Shampoo work too too hard on food so Ranma be happy."

The martial artist warily takes the plate, raising a speculative eyebrow. The last time he ate some of the Amazon's cooking, he wound up hugging anybody who sneezed for several hours afterwards. "Um…what is this exactly?"

The smile quickly fades from Shampoo's face. "You…no want eat Shampoo cooking? You no like Shampoo?" Her lower lip begins to tremble as tears slowly form in the corners of her eyes.

Ranma, with his extreme lack of experience with women, does the only thing he can do…panic. Waving his arms around frantically, the young Saotome quickly says, "No Shampoo! I don't not like you or anything!"

"Then you no trust me?" She asks, placing one hand on her hip with a cute pout.

"No," he hesitantly replies, "I trust you…sorta."

With a smile, Shampoo lifts the food up to her 'husband' while smiling innocently. "Then you eat Shampoo cooking, yes?"

Without a second thought, Ranma takes the plate and, in one large gulp, downs the entire meal, not bothering to swallow, but noting that it does taste really good. As soon as it goes down, however, the purple-haired young woman covers Ranma's mouth with her hand. "Shmmumm! (Shampoo!)" he muffles out.

The Amazon shushes him, placing a finger over her lips. "Ranma no say anything yet," She quickly tells him. Suddenly a sign appears behind her from out of nowhere with something written down in perfect Japanese. She points to the sign and orders, "Now say what sign say!" as she lets go of his mouth.

The Saotome youth rubs his jaw for a moment before looking at the sign and saying, "I'm not afraid of c-cats? Shampoo, what are…" he suddenly trails off as an odd, but not unpleasant warm feeling courses all throughout his body. He looks down at himself, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. "What'd ya do to me?" Ranma's eyes widen as the beautiful Chinese girl picks up a bucket of cold water and raises it above her head. "Sh-Shampoo?" As she turns over the bucket, the martial artist closes his eyes and cringes, waiting for the worst to come. He hears the splash of water, yet he feels no paralyzing fear like he usually does.

For a few tense seconds, nothing happens. Then he feels something rubbing against his leg with a light purring sound. Curious, Ranma loosens up and opens his eyes, completely shocked to see the Amazonian in her cursed cat form leaning against his leg and looking up at him curiously. The young man blinks a couple of times, wondering if he might just get some sort of delayed reaction or something. When nothing comes, he kneels down to get a better look at the cat. "Did…did you do this to me Shampoo? Did you get rid of my fear of cats?" He is amazed that he feels absolutely no fear whatsoever, he can even manage to say 'cat' without being afraid.

The little purple and white cat answers with a slight nod and an enthusiastic, "Nyow!"

Ecstatic, Ranma grabs Shampoo and tosses her high into the air, shouting, "Yes! I'm cured!" After he dances around in joy, he suddenly realizes what he did to the cat who cured him. "Oh crap!" With grace and agility only befitting the young Saotome, he leaps on top of a nearby building and then straight up into the air, catching a slightly shaken Shampoo with ease. As he lands, he sits down on a nearby bench, putting the cursed cat down next to him and pets her gently with a fond look. "Ya know," he begins, "I never realized how cute cats can be."

Shampoo looks away, a light blush managing to show through the white fur on her cheeks. "Oh I'm so happy!' her mind squeals in delight. 'I'm on his very good side and I finally have a good chance with him!' She turns around and leaps onto his lap, rubbing against his stomach while purring loudly.

The young Saotome chuckles lightly at her antics. "This is the best I've felt in a long time." At the cat's quizzical look, he continues on, "well as of today, it looks like I'm not engaged ta Akane anymore."

Shampoo's head snaps up in surprise. "Mrew?" (Which translates to 'What?' in human speech.)

Ranma sighs deeply and pets the cat gently with a distracted look. The cursed Amazon purrs contently and curls up into a ball, keeping her ears up to listen to what her 'husband' has to say. "I don't know what happened exactly, but I guess I kinda pushed Akane too far this time or somethin. After she got up today, she got all cute and cuddly with Ryoga in front of everyone…and then she says that me an her aren't engaged anymore." He scratches his head with his free hand, a troubled expression on his face. "Then she started sayin that we were never even engaged to begin with, and that she don't even really see me as a friend. I couldn't take no more it so I left the Tendo's place, but I don't know what to do right now and I'm getting really confused." His gaze shifts down to the happy cat on his lap. "Ya got any good ideas?"

Shampoo sits up and nods a few times. She leaps off of him and rushes around the corner, grabbing her Chinese dress with her teeth as she goes. The young Amazon woman returns a few minutes later back in her true, human form. "Better," she says with a smile. Shampoo walks straight to Ranma, wearing a genuine smile. "Shampoo solve problem." The martial artist leans forward expectantly. "Since violent pervert girl no want Ranma no more, Ranma now free to date Shampoo!"

The young Saotome face faults onto the ground, his thumb, pinkie and index finger sticking out on both hands. He is quick to his feet again, though he is now feeling a bit uneasy at both the look and soft purring sounds the Chinese girl is giving him. "Um…Sh-Shampoo," he hesitantly begins, "I-I'm not too sure bout that r-right now…I mean…after today and all…"

"But Shampoo help cure too too bad fear," she pouts. "All Shampoo want is one date. Is so wrong?"

Ranma rubs the back of his head with a nervous smile. 'She does make a good point and I guess I do owe her now that I'm cured of my fear of cats,' he thinks to himself. After a few moments of internal deliberation, her decides, 'Ya know, maybe I should. I mean, its just one little date. How could that hurt?' He does a formal bow before responding, "_I guess maybe one date couldn't hurt…Xian Pu_," in perfect Chinese.

To say that the young Amazon is surprised is an extreme understatement. "_You…you speak Chinese…and you can say my name correctly_?" He nods with his patented cocky smirk. "_Why didn't you tell me before_?"

"_You never asked_," he answers with a shrug. "Sides," he adds, reverting back to Japanese, "I like speaking this language more."

Shampoo shakes her head. "Of course, you Japanese." She suddenly remembers what Ranma said earlier. "Wait! You say you go on date with Shampoo?" She clasps her hands together with a giddly expression on her face.

The Saotome youth blushes deeply while scratching the back of his head again. "Uh…Yeah I di…" he is caught off by a very strong Amazon glomp.

"Oh I so happy!" she squeals. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the Amazon girl releases Ranma from her glomp and takes his hand, dragging him off towards the direction she originally came from. "Must hurry, have many many plan to do now."

Ranma tries to free his hand from the Chinese girl's, but finds her grip surprisingly strong. "Uh…Shampoo?" he hesitantly begins. "What's the rush?"

She pauses for a moment and turns around. "_You said you'd go on a date with me_," she responds in Chinese, "_and I want to take an all-day date, and no complaining_!" she adds as Ranma starts to open his mouth to protest. "_I have been planning this for a long time, and I want it to be just perfect. Oh, and can you keep on calling me Xian Pu, I hate it when everybody calls me Shampoo_!"

The sex-changing martial artist sighs again, shaking his head in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'll agree to the all-day date thingy, but I'll only call you Xian Pu when nobody else is around…Xian Pu." He can't help but smile at the mirthful look on the cute Amazon's face. 'I never realized how nice of a person she can be.'

Shampoo covers her mouth as she is overcome with a bout of giggles. After she regains her composure, she holds out her hand. "Here, come now. We go on date and have fun!"

Smiling to himself, Ranma takes her hand and the two young people walk off to begin their date.

Just as they turn their backs to a large concrete wall behind them, Cologne appears on top of it, watching the two with a fond smile. "That was very smart granddaughter," she muses out loud. "Both you and son-in-law are full of more surprises than I had expected. Finding that cure for his fear was a very nice touch, and it will help son-in-law to trust her more." She pauses for a moment to frown slightly. "I forgot I left my scroll with that Ryoga boy and I must get it back. There is no telling how much damage he might have inflicted upon Miss Tendo's mind and I must act fast to find out the problem and fix it, lest I risk her to suffer any permanent brain damage." The sound of laughter ringing in her ears causes her to stop in her thoughts and gaze at its source. It appears as though both Shampoo and Ranma have been splashed with cold water, judging by the girl with shocking red hair wearing son-in-law's clothes standing next to a small white cat with little decorations in her hair just like Shampoo's. The fiery redhead laughs while the little cat dances around her, meowing happily. The elder Amazon smiles wistfully at them, remembering days gone by. "Ah, young love."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's notes**: As I've said in my previous updates with my other fics, I've been getting back onto my old groove, albeit it's taking a bit of time. Please be patient and I'll get another chapter up eventually.

On Ranma news…it looks like things have begun to shift around with who is number one in Ranma's eyes…for the moment. He still has a couple more girls that are still interested in him. Their interactions with him will be quite interesting, I promise. Oh, I'll bring some more light into the 'memory swap' technique Ryoga used on Akane soon, and some of the side effects if not done correctly. Heh heh… -- _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon**(at)**Y!**


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